


Clock's Ticking

by Gamermel7



Category: overwatch
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2018-10-12 08:43:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10486836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamermel7/pseuds/Gamermel7
Summary: She was never much for worrying about running out of time, it was on her side after all. But while that hourglass scope was pointed at her accelerator, only one thought crossed her mind.Time's up.Or Lena runs into a problem on the battlefield and Amelie gets stuck with the foolish girl.





	1. Even a Stopped Clock...

**Author's Note:**

> Didn't plan for this to be multi-chaptered but haaa here we are.  
> Feedback greatly appreciated :)

It all started with a stopped clock. 

It was strange really. Lena didn't remember it breaking. She could've sworn it was working this morning. There was also the fact that Overwatch seemed a bit too diligent to not have noticed and replaced the clock already. Mostly because Morrison would chew out anyone for being late to a mission briefing, meaning all clocks need to be maintained properly as agents feared his wrath so much. 

Yet there it was. Short hand stuck on one and long hand stuck at seven. Lena checked her digital watch, and it did not read 1:35 but 2:30 instead. It was strange. But Lena only turned her head away as Morrison began speaking, pushing it to the back of her head where she would soon forgot about it. 

Life is never that simple for a girl that slipped through time. 

"Alright team, listen up!" Morrison began, placing his visor down on the table. It was odd seeing her old commander brandishing such an unruly uniform, if one can even call it that. Over time, she adjusted to the 76 on his back, but always preferred to call him Morrison, much to his disapproval. 

"Many of you know by now that Talon is weakening. Their last line of defense has been discovered to be in England, around King's Row. I've appointed Agent Oxton to take a small squadron to scout the area before we send in the strike team to eliminate them for good." 

Well that was new. Jack never really trusted her with anything. Always telling her to she needed to focus more and slow down. 

Surprising, but not at all unpleasant. She was constantly looked up to, being the very poster child of Overwatch. Leading came almost as naturally as flying to her. 

After going over a few minute details of the mission, bits and pieces that Lena did and didn't listen to, the briefing was dismissed. 

"Clock's busted, by the way." Lena mentioned nonchalantly to Morrison as she left. 

He picked his head up from some files he had been reading to examine it a few minutes after everyone left the room. Squinting, he noticed that the clock worked fine.


	2. Time's Up

You think that years of combat and adventures would mean that one would get more used to gunfire. 

You'd think wrong. 

She was pinned behind two crates and they definitely weren't going to last much longer taking the brunt of heavy assault rifle fire. Reload, return fire. Reload, return fire. And no matter how fast she could blink she wouldn't be able to move faster than at least one stray bullet. She blew some hair out of her face. Reload, return fire. 

This wouldn't have happened if she would've been more careful. Maybe Morrison was still wrong to trust her. A more focused agent could've stopped to think about invisible laser trip wires. Others in her squad did think about it, but couldn't stop her from rushing straight in anyways. Now she put herself and her whole squad in jeopardy. 

"Back-up requested, back-up requested! This is Agent Tracer, pinned down with the recon squad on the east entrance of Talon's stronghold! Please we need help!" She yelled into her radio com on her gauntlet. A panicked response came in from Fareeah, telling her she's moving in. The rocket barrage that came soon after was enough for Lena's squad to push forward. 

The arrival of that back up brought not only Fareeah but Angela as well. And she was not happy. Grabbing Lena by her coat she pulled her off behind cover, while Pharah barked commands at the recon squad to keep pressure fire on the Talon commandos to keep them busy until more back up arrived. 

"What the hell were you thinking? You can't rush into the enemy like this! Now we've given Talon enough time to call for their back up!" Angela yelling was something that was so unusual that when it did happen it was when you knew you were in deep shit. 

"Look Angie, I'm sorry! I put us all at risk. I should've never lead this team, I can never slow down! I don't know what Morrison was thinking, I should've never lead okay!" Lena shouted over continued gunfire. Angela shook her head and flew over to a soldier injured on the ground, her caduceus staff getting him back up into the fight like new. 

Lena realized that standing where she was wasn't helping anyone. And just as she was about to move, the air was split open with a cracking, thunderous sound of a sniper rifle. 

She reacted in the only way she knew how. She traced straight towards the sound, shouting something in her comm that she would deal with the sniper and then turning off her comms before a response could come in. At this point she was completely focused on facing her rival and nothing else. She would deal with getting chewed out by Morrison and Angela and Winston and most likely everyone else later. 

Lena knew exactly why she rushed into the stronghold without a second thought. That was to go in and try her best to convince Widowmaker-no, Amelie-to defect now before it was too late. If the Overwatch strike team had gotten to her first...

She didn't want to think about that. 

With Talon collapsing there would be no where to run for Amelie. And Lena wasn't going to allow her to be hurt. 

Braking to a stop on the slick cement roof, Lena waited for Amelie to turn around and face her. She wasn't sure what to say to her yet but she always did have a knack for winging it. It was her whole life really. 

"Well well, here we are, cherie. The last stand. You and I both know what this means." Widowmaker smirked as she slowly turned, her accented words rolling so sultrily off her tongue. Lena however did notice the sadness that came off those words too. She knew what she meant. But she stubbornly refused for it to be true. 

"Doesn't have to end that way, love. Both of us can walk out of this. Neither of us gets hurt or...worse. You know that." Lena was trying so hard not to cry at this point. All she wanted was for Amelie to come back. Even if it was not the same Amelie, she was going to do whatever it takes to bring this woman back into a normal life. It was the heroine in her, she wanted to believe. 

It was a lie. She loved this woman. 

"Non. There is no escaping this, I am afraid." Amelie raised the rifle towards Lena and Lena's throat went dry. "Our game has come to an end. We have ran out of time to keep playing, foolish girl. Goodbye, mon Cherie." 

Lena made no attempt to blink away or to recall. If it really had to end this way, with one of them dead, she knew she did not have it in her to be the one left standing at the end of the day. So she waited. 

She was never much for worrying about running out of time, it was on her side after all. But while that hourglass scope was pointed at her accelerator, only one thought crossed her mind. 

Time's up. 

And when the shot came and hit the accelerator square in her chest, her breath finally released. 

Although, not her final breath. She was still alive. Except the accelerator was going absolutely nuts with flashing and flickering and sparking. Lena was so confused. 

"What did you do?" Lena called out. But Amelie was too shocked to answer. Lena reached out towards her, the assassin reaching back, and as their hands met a blinding blue aura incapsulated them briefly before dissipating. 

They were both shocked and couldn't speak. Instead they looked at each other and noticed that the rain which had been falling around them moments ago had stopped falling completely. Suspended in the air as if...

"What is going on?" Widowmaker demanded to know. She grabbed Lena by her shoulders and shook slightly. But Lena was just as confused. 

Until it hit her. The stopped clock. Her accelerator being struck and not immediately sucking her back into a plane of nonexistence. The rain stuck in the air, stuck in time. 

"Everything's frozen...except for us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story so far, please leave a comment! It encourages me to write much faster :)


	3. What To Do

The rain still stuck in the air, frozen to the effects of time itself, felt all too familiar to Lena. She watched as her hand moved to gather them, creating a small pool in her palm, and staring wordlessly as she attempted to dump the water on the cement. All it did was remain in her hand before she huffed and brushed it off. 

"Right well...suppose we should get this fixed, somehow?" 

Two hands grabbed at Lena's collar, gripping her tightly as they pulled her close to the assassin's face. 

"What the hell is really going on here?" Amelie all but growled. "Is this some kind of trick?! And why are you not dead?" 

Lena simply looked into her eyes, the golden irises shone so beautifully with passionate rage. They mesmerized her, hitching her breath and causing a blush to spread to her face. 

She was a useless lesbian, she thought. 

Amelie huffed as she let Lena go and walked away, still obviously taken aback by the frozen rain hanging around her. "Imbécile. What have you gotten us into now, you fool?"   
Amelie hissed under her breath. 

"Whoa now hang on! You do realize none of this would've happened if you hadn't shot me point blank on this thing!" Lena exclaimed, gesturing to her accelerator and how it was still buzzing and sparking. In all honesty, she was terrified at how badly it was busted. At any moment she could slip through the gap of time again. But why hadn't she already? 

"None of this would've happened if you would've fought like normal, fool. This should've been our last dance, yet you are too stubborn to end it." Amelie fixed her eyes on Lena's, staring deep into the young girl's eyes that burned with passion. Amelie was ready to die, and hoped that pointing the Widow's Kiss at the girl's device would make her fight for her life. She didn't plan on actually firing. But when that stubborn annoyance did not move, Amelie's bluff would've been caught. She had hoped a half-powered shot wouldn't cause to much damage to the device. She was obviously wrong. 

"Stop calling me a fool!" Lena shouted. "Look I'm not too sure what's going on either, alright? I've just realized now my accelerator has been acting sort of wonky the past couple of days. But I'm no scientist! I'm not sure how it works exactly. I do know though that the faster I fix this, the faster we can go back to killing each other. So you gonna help or not?" 

Amelie was uncertain. Any moment more spent with this annoyance was going to drive her insane. But if that device was left broken longer, it meant she had to spend much more time living, reflecting on all that she had done as Talon's tool. That was more torturous than assisting the girl, she concluded. 

"What do you suggest we do then?" Amelie asked, looking out towards the city, noticing how the lights of hover cars were completely motionless, how even the dust particles in the rain were stopped completely. How was this even possible?

"Like I said I'm no scientist. Frankly, I didn't even know the accelerator had the capability to stop time. But I know somewhere we can go to learn more about what's happening, and maybe even a way on fixing it." Lena's grin lit up her eyes with confidence, and Amelie rolled her eyes at the sight. It was charming, she admitted to herself. She swore she'd never admit it aloud. 

"Oh? And where would that be, foolish girl?" Amelie smirked slightly, knowing the teasing would knock that grin off Lena's face. 

"I'll point it out to ya, but you'll have to take us there, seeing as how I'm a bit immobilized at the moment." Lena kept grinning but then stopped. "And for the last time, stop calling me a fool!" 

Amelie scowled. She knew what Lena was suggesting. And she absolutely despised the thought. 

"If you think I'll allow you to hang on to me while I swing with my grappling hook, you are very mistaken, cherie." 

Lena pouted. "How else are we gonna get there quickly? You don't know where it is and I can't blink." 

Amelie chewed on the girl's words. She was right and the taller woman hated it. She sighed and gestured for Lena to come closer. Lena smiled cheekily and wrapped her arms around Amelie's waist, the contact with the cold skin only heating up her own body more. 

"And if I catch you staring at my chest I promise I will drop you." Amelie remarked casually, while Lena blushed harder and pouted some more.

"Wasn't planning on it, love." 

Lena was planning on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment if you enjoyed! :) 
> 
> I'm going to try and update this every Friday from now on but haaa also don't hold me to that. :,)


	4. A Momentary Truce

The ride Lena had hitched with Amelie was probably the most exhilarating experience she had had in a long time. Not only that, but it was genuinely fun. With each descending fall her stomach leaped into her chest and just when it seemed like they would fall to their doom, the hook would be fired again and bring the pair swiftly back into the air in an accelerated arching swing. 

Lena was giggling like mad, each fall she would woo and holler and each ascent made her feel like she was laughing death itself in the face. She had almost forgotten to give Amelie directions on where exactly to grapple to with all her excited shouting and laughter. 

Underneath all her annoyance, Amelie found herself smirking ever so slightly. Seeing the girl behave so childish and naive, it was almost enough to make her feel...something. She couldn't exactly pinpoint what she was feeling, but the smirk that played on her lips was enough to tell her she was at least enjoying herself a bit too. 

With a final arch and release the two landed perfectly on another rooftop that was at least a good half mile away from the Talon stronghold. 

"That was wicked, love!" Lena laughed out as she was put down. She was filled up with so much energy that all she was able to do was bounce uncontrollably and giggle all the same. 

Amelie only scoffed at the sight. This girl was unbelievable. How could she act so jovial in the face of their current situation?   
Although Amelie showed only discontent and annoyance on her face, she remembered the smirk she wore just a few moments ago. And how good it felt. 

"Silence. What do we do now?" Amelie stated calmly. Lena immediately stopped her giggling and running to look around on the rooftop and when she found what she was looking for exclaimed a joyous "Aha!" in front of a sunroof window. 

"Right down here is an old Overwatch hideout. Because it's the London outpost, where I usually operate out of, it also has a mini repair bench for the accelerator, in case I was ever in a pinch. Kind of like how I am now." She looked back at Amelie and saw her frown. "I mean, how we're both in now." 

"I thought you said you weren't a scientist. How are you going to be able to repair that?"   
Amelie asked, doubt dripping in her voice. 

"Don't have to be a scientist to be handy. May not be able to explain the science on why it works the way it does, but I do know all the bits and pieces that make it work. I was a pilot you know?" 

"Oui, I know." Amelie remarked as she watched the girl fumble with opening the window. She sauntered over and kicked out the glass, sending shards flying and making Lena jump back slightly. 

"Talon really does now who they're fighting. I'll give them that. Also maybe try not to hurt the only person that can fix the situation? You kind of need me." Lena pouted as Amelie shot the grapple down the now broken window and into the building. 

"I do. For now. And when this is done, we can go back to killing each other. As always."   
The assassin slid down the rope effortlessly as Lena watched. She loved the way her movements were so graceful, like a ballerina on stage. She knew she would never be able to kill her. 

"Still bent on killing me, huh? A little sad way to say thank you to the person who's getting you out of the frozen void of time." Lena huffed as she landed hard down on her feet after sliding down the rope. She was no where near as majestic as the long-legged assassin. 

"You were the one to get us both stuck here. Why would I thank you?" Amelie pulled her grapple back into her gauntlet, surveying her surroundings, eventually pulling on her visor to better scan the barely lit area. "The light switch is over here. I'll flip it." 

"If I remember correctly, you did shoot me square in the chest to kill me. Not only kill me, but split me across into infinite timelines. If anything, maybe I should get an apology!" Lena shouted in frustration, as the lights came on. 

Amelie understood the girl's frustration. She didn't know that Amelie shot without the intent to kill or worse. Lena turned from her and found the work bench, loosening the straps of her device and setting it down once it was removed. There were no words shared between them as Lena began to work with the tools and spare parts, then opened a few panels that revealed the interior structure of the only tether the agent has on the real world. If Sombra was able to see the device now, she would be having a field day, Amelie thought. 

"I am sorry." She spoke without realizing why she was saying what she did. An apology would at least calm the younger girl down to help her focus on repairing the device faster right? That's what she told herself at least. 

Lena's eyes were wide as she turned around again and faced the assassin who was now disassembling her rifle. 

"In all honesty, I only wished to deactivate the device. I had no intent to kill you. Like you, I am no scientist. I did not know this would happen." She spoke without her gaze ever leaving her rifle. 

Lena knew that's as good of an apology she was going to get. 

"Well...that actually is a relief. Thank you for telling me." Lena turned back to keep working. "I think things will be better if we get along you know? At least for the time being." 

"Hm." Was all Amelie responded with. 

Lena would take it, she thought as she secretly smirked to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Irregular updates is basically the definition of my life :,)


	5. Warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooo boy it's been a while since I updated. Here have a longer chapter as An apology.

If there was anything Lena was good at, it was definitely not sitting still or being quiet. 

Even with time frozen around them, the two still found that bodily requirements were still...required. They had to sleep, eat, drink, relieve themselves. 

In a way, it was probably the closest the two had to a domestic life together. Except with a lot more silence, tension, and glaring, mostly on Amelie's part. 

Lena now was trying to make herself useful by preparing a small meal for lunch. Although with the limited selection of food stuffs that was left behind in the safe house, it seemed like all they would have is ham and cheese sandwiches. For the third day in a row. 

Amelie could care less about what she ate. She didn't need much to sustain herself thanks to Talon. 

Lena on the other hand would not go another day with it. She stopped cooking and turned away from the oven. 

"I'm going out. I can not stomach another sandwich again in my life." 

Amelie stood up from her sitting position, blocking Lena from leaving the small kitchen. 

"Where do you think you are going? You still have work to do fixing that...thing. And the less time you are here, the longer I am stuck with you." Looking down at the shorter girl, she could tell she was not nearly as intimidating as she was attempting to be. 

Lena was smirking slyly, staring the taller woman down. "I thought you liked spending time with little ol' me. I must say I am quite hurt, love." She dipped under Amelie's arm before she could react, giggling softly as she made her way back into the common area. Lena pouted as she knew she wouldn't be able to climb out of the safe house herself and sighed. 

"Boost me up, yeah? I'm going out to get some groceries." 

"You are not leaving." 

"Love, you know, you're being really possessive right now. I need to be free!" Lena closed her eyes and clutched at her chest dramatically, giggling to herself as she did so. 

Amelie was not amused. She grabbed Lena by the collar and pulled her in close. "Do you think I am one of your friends? This is not a game. I am running out of patience with you." 

Lena could smell her perfume. Why was she even wearing perfume? She didn't know, but damn did it smell nice. Her golden eyes were the only sparks of life along the cold, blue skin. Her jaw line was taught in her anger, so sharp, Lena thought it could probably cut her. She was too bloody gay for this kind of contact, she swore to herself. 

With a blush still spread across her face, she began to talk. "Look love, I'm not trying to get us fighting now, 'specially when you're the only other person speaking and moving in the world. But I'm not going to be under house arrest either!" Lena managed to push Amelie's hand away from her collar and walked away. She began to stack up old crates and boxes to reach the now broken sun window, while Amelie watched in frustration. Huffing out and adjusting her grappling hook on her wrist, she aimed and shot it up past the younger girl's head. 

"Fine. But I go with you." 

"Making sure I don't run away now, huh?" Lena mocked, recovering from the initial shock of having the hook zip by her head. 

Amelie only grunted as she passed by Lena, ascending the rope to the roof. Lena followed and looked at the sniper expectantly. She rolled her eyes as Lena grinned out a smile that was so sweet it made Amelie's teeth hurt. 

"The same warning applies. If I catch you staring, I will drop you." Lena only nodded at the words as she pressed her body against Amelie, wrapping her arms around her waist tightly, fidgeting excitedly. 

Amelie just sighed as she shot her hook to the next building, but once again on their swinging journey, she couldn't help herself from smiling slightly at the rambunctious young girl giggling her head off. 

Lena pointed them out to a nearby market, still smiling and giggling as they landed in front of the doors. Amelie once again kicked her way through the glass, making Lena smirk at the use of those gorgeously long legs. Mostly smirking at the thought of those legs wrapped around her-

"Hurry up. The faster we get this finished the better." Lena taken out of her reverie at the sight of Amelie stepping into the super market. She followed closely behind before speaking. 

"So there's a few things I want. Good snack. Healthy, you know? Fresh fruit and veggies. I would like to have some eggs or bacon for breakfast time but I don't think we can really cook with time being all bonkers right now. Sad because I would love some hot tea while I worked. But definitely a bit of junk food too like chocolates. Plus, whatever you want too, I'm sure they've got it." 

"I don't desire anything." Amelie responded simply. 

"You sure? Because you know anything's up for grabs right now." Lena talked as she placed some fruit into a plastic bag and took a bite out of a delicious red apple. "You're French right? You could definitely find some wine here or nice cheese. Hell, maybe you'll even like ice cream with how cold you are." 

How Lena was still able to talk with her mouth full like that, Amelie did not know, nor was she really surprised. 

After what felt like years of being in the market, Lena seemed pleased at her haul, even picking out some things that Amelie might like. Amelie was silent throughout the whole affair, besides usual sighing and shaking of her head. She had hoped Lena did not see how she had sneaked in a fine Swiss chocolate box into the bag, one that she vaguely remembered from her childhood. 

Lena noticed and smiled softly, but she did not mention it. 

The two women made their way back to hideout, where Lena hummed happily as she munched on bananas and mangos while working on the accelerator. The clothes she wore however made her feel less happy. The swinging had her clothes catch the rain water still frozen in the air and she was grabbing uncomfortably at the cloth. She knew Amelie probably felt the same way, but she did not show it. 

"Alright, well I'm going to go change out of these clothes. Pretty sure there's spare around here, somewhere. Want some?" Lena asked as she shrugged off her damp bomber jacket.

Amelie looked over at her. Scanning the young girl's body. The white shirt sticking tightly to her body showed off taught muscles and feminine curves. For whatever reason, her eyes were stuck to Lena. 

"Oui," she finally spoke, "that would be nice." 

Lena felt the eyes on her and she couldn't help but feel somewhat self conscious with the staring from the attractive assassin. 

"Uh. Yeah...lemme give you some privacy while you-" the words caught in her mouth as Amelie brazenly slid off her bodysuit, baring all her body to see. And by god Lena felt like she was going to faint. 

"No need, cherie, we are both women, non?"   
Amelie smirked slightly, noticing how obviously bad Lena was blushing and attempting to avert her gaze. 

Lena turned around after she threw the clothes in Amelie's direction, attempting to cool down while pressing her face into her damp jacket. Nothing, not even her military training from the RAF or Overwatch combined, could have adequately prepared her for that display. She sighed heavily as she started to undress. She didn't think about Amelie's body, the curves, the length of her legs, her full, pale, breasts. Well, she didn't think about it much. 

Amelie only smirked wider as she heard Lena sigh out loud. The only thing that she remembered giving her this much pleasure in so long was killing. She could have never imagined making her rival this flustered would have made her feel anything, let alone made her feel alive. 

Alive. The word echoed around her head. I feel alive with her.

So maybe if I pushed it a little further...

That kind of thinking was dangerous. But Amelie was a dangerous woman. A woman who was not afraid of her thoughts, and definitely not afraid of Tracer. 

Lena had just finished changing into the new, dry clothes when she felt Amelie at her back, placing one hand on the shorter girl's shoulder as the other played along her spine. Her eyes went wide with the touch, and her mouth went dry when Amelie's breath hit the back of her neck. 

"You are so warm." She cooed seductively from behind Lena. "How could you stand it?" 

Lena was unable to say anything, still stiffened up with the sensations behind her. This wasn't real. She must've died with that gunshot. She died and went to heaven. 

"Foolish girl," Amelie practically whispered now, "You could never understand how I feel. How I don't feel. There is too much life in you. Too much warmth." Lena's eyes were half lidded by this point, savoring the cool touch on her back. If she was going to die here, so be it. 

Amelie now rested her chin on Lena's shoulder, never stopping her caressing along Lena's spine. "Do you know how much pleasure taking your life would give me?" Lena whimpered something out, something she couldn't even understand herself. 

"Your life. Your warmth. You're possession of them is great. It is so easy to steal. Perhaps I will be able to take it. Enough of it to keep  
me alive, without killing you completely. You will be my possession, cherie. A never ending source of life I will tap into. I will never let you go." 

Lena could no longer take this anymore. Pushing away from Amelie caught the assassin off guard at first but as she was pulled forward again into Lena, their lips meeting together, she quickly composed herself and grabbed at the girl's collar, taking all the warmth her lips could offer. 

And that truly made her feel alive. 

Lena broke the kiss hesitantly, her bottom lip shivering as she looked up into those fierce golden eyes. "I love you..." her voice trailed off, weakly. 

Amelie looked back down, carefully examining the girl. "I do not know if I could love you." 

"I don't care!" Lena's eyes were getting misty, but she no longer cared to hold anything back. "You...there's always been something worth saving in you. I want to help you find it." 

Amelie chuckled softly, almost mockingly.   
"My sweet foolish girl..." she sighed before kissing Lena again, with all the same passion as before. She let the moan Lena gave out vibrate into her before breaking away. "I will only ruin you." 

"Then ruin me. I love you too much to let this go." She emphasized her point by clutching onto Amelie's body tighter. 

Amelie rested her forehead onto the smaller girl's. Maybe this warmth was worth something more than pleasure. 

"I will not let go then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My gay babies finally hooked up im so happy for them


	6. Game Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet y’all thought this was never going to get updated again. But I lived bitch.

The next few days were interesting to say the least. 

Well, at least Lena thought they were days. With time still on the fritz it was hard to tell. 

Lena still worked, happily munching on the grub they managed to pick off that day at the market. She was making progress each passing day, noticing how sometimes a few raindrops still stuck in a seemingly permanent night sky would change position from time to time. She even noted that her latest rewiring in a certain component of the device would cause the sound of rain to be heard outside, but then stop abruptly. She was closer, but figured she still had a ways to go. 

A remarkable difference was that Amelie seemed much more interested in what exactly Lena was doing, instead of skulking in a corner of the already cramped living space, cleaning her rifle. She stood over Lena, occasionally asking what she was attempting to fix and how it might help the cause of unfreezing time. 

An hour ago, Lena noticed something else about Amélie as well. Whenever she stood over her, the tall assassin would casually brush up against Lena, making the Overwatch agent’s heart pound in her ears. The touches grew more bold as time went on. The casual brush that could be written off to merely an accident upgraded into light touches of Lena’s hand, caressing of her upper arm muscles, until eventually, a peck on her cheek greeted her while she was visually stumped on where to go next with her tinkering. 

Lena blushed madly, trying and desperately failing to keep her composure as she turned to face the woman behind her, a sly smirk on her own face. 

“Now what was that for, love? Not that I’m complaining or nothing, obviously.” Lena smiled warmly back, not caring to hide her deep red blush or her dorky smile any longer. 

Amélie took notice of Lena’s unashamed smiling and started to blush a light red herself, though with her complexion, it appeared more like a darker tinge of purple painted her cheeks. 

“It looks as if you could use a break, ma cherie. How about it?” 

Amélie’s sly grin returned, which meant any poise that Lena acquired was lost again. 

“Ah, well…I would love to…but…” Lena trailed off, scratching the back of her neck and looking away from Amelie, still nervous about refusing a request from the dangerous woman. 

“But?” Amélie concluded, being careful to not sound too harsh, She still needed to work on it. 

Lena sighed audibly as she turned back to her chronal accelerator. It laid on the work bench with wires exposed, yet not nearly as fried as it used to be. At least it was improving in condition, but the machine still looked far from fixed. Lena took a wire in between her fingers and cautiously began to attach it back to the main frame of the device. As she did, the accelerator sparked fiercely up again, and Lena dropped the wire with a small welp, the smell of electrical smoke lingering in the air. 

“See that? That’s not good.” Lena turned back to Amélie, now focused hard on the device and on whatever Lena had to say. 

“I can tell that much.” Amélie remarked dismissively. She didn’t have much else to say; the only mechanisms she worried about for the last few years were the ones in her rifle. Even if she was no longer miserable being stuck alone with Tracer (far from it actually), it was hard not to feel useless in the situation she was presented with. 

And Amélie hated to feel useless. 

“Yeah well, it’s a big problem. But I do have good news!” Lena lit up excitedly standing on her feet and turning back to Amélie, giving her her trademark wide grin. “I know how to fix it!” 

Lena placed her hands on the taller woman’s shoulders. ‘Are all French women this tall?’ She briefly thought, before refocusing her attention on the matter at hand. 

“Now brace yourself for this love, ‘cuz I don’t want the only person in the world going nutty on me after I say what I gotta say right now.” Lena’s smile gave way to a stern look, a look not exactly fitting on her soft freckled cheeks. 

Amélie did not feel much in years. Recent time with the British girl told differently. But the feeling of worry was still all the much unwelcome in her gut, even if it had been a very long time since she had ever felt this way. 

“Just tell me. I do not like this....comment tu dis...uncertainty in your voice.” 

Lena once again sighed, taking her hands off the assassin’s shoulders. A solemn look she tried to hide crept its way to her features, not helping Amélie’s growing concern one bit. Slowly, she began to shrug off her brown bomber jacket, a garment she put back on immediately after noticing the problem afflicting her. 

Her shoulders now exposed, Amélie’s eyes went wide, as she was able to see right through the Brit’s right collarbone, down to her forearm. She was transparent, almost like a ghost in that section of her body. Lena looked down on herself with a sad smile, from her point of view being able to see the floor beneath her through her own body. 

“This is what happens every time I screw up with rewiring and fixing up the accelerator. Lose a bit of myself every time the thing smokes or hisses. Not just with flubbing up the device neither, no. Every day we’re stuck here, I can see a little more through myself.” 

Lena bit her lip as she looked back up, noticing Amélie’s expression-a mix of worry, confusion and some anger too-before continuing. 

“I need to be absolutely perfect with fixing the accelerator from here on out, is what this means. And I have to do it so much faster than what I’ve been doing up until now. Or else...” Lena raised her hands up to her head her fists clenched, then released her fingers to open palms. “Poof! Back in that void of chronology disassociation for me. And who know what’ll happen to you, being stuck frozen in this mess.” 

Lena looked in Amélie’s eyes, placing her hands on her cheeks. Amélie looked back into the shorter girl’s amber irises, for looking at her ghostly transparency was becoming very painful. 

“I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, love. Not with everything that’s been happening between us.” Lena looked around for a moment trying to find the right words to say, knowing she wouldn’t find them in the safe house-more like safe room-they occupied. 

“I don’t want to lose this.” Lena’s face softened, coaxing Amélie to take initiative after all of Lena’s talking. She placed her Lena’s chin in between her thumb and fore- finger, placing her cool lips on Lena’s slightly chapped ones. 

Lena let her eyes drift closed. No matter how many kisses Amélie would allow her, she was certain she would never get used to the feeling of butterflies and weightlessness whenever Amelie’s full lips met her own. She savored the feeling, let it course through her, before Amélie broke it slowly, a whine half-heartedly escaping Lena’s mouth, making her blush even deeper with embarrassment. 

Amélie let a small smile sneak upon her lips seeing the younger girl’s bashfulness, before getting serious again. 

“You said you can fix it, oui? What do you need me to do?” Amélie’s eyes went sharp, letting Lena know she was ready to help in any way. 

Lena assumed this meant Amélie didn’t want to lose this either. Whatever...this was. 

She figured they would sort that out later. Right now, there were bigger fish to fry. 

“Right, but like I said I need to be absolutely perfect. I’m going to need something to make sure that perfection is guaranteed. Which is this baby’s manual.” Lena remarked as she gave the accelerator a soft tap-tap, too afraid of putting any more pressure on it. 

“And that’s ah...not going to be too easy to get our mitts on. Bloody difficult actually. One of manuals is back in Winston’s lab, all the way across the continent in Gibraltar so that’s a no go.” Lena shook her head dismissively, while Amélie still listening intently. 

“I assume there’s another manual then?” Amélie questioned, though she was sure she wouldn’t like this answer either. 

“Yup! Luckily, that one’s right here in London too! And you’re going to take me to it.” Lena smiled wide, while Amélie’s confusion only became more evident on her face. 

“I didn’t even know this other manual existed, how do you think I will lead you there, petite mouche?” Amélie replied mockingly, yet not viscously. She wondered momentarily what had happened to all her distaste for the woman before. Only then did she realize she hadn’t really possessed it for a long while now. A thought she would need to revisit when all this mess was solved. 

If all this mess was solved. 

“It’s back at that Talon base we were storming earlier, the last Talon stronghold as you and I both know. And where it just so happens to be the place where Talon has a copy of Winston’s manual, nicked by the good ‘ol Reaper himself after he tried to steal all our data before Overwatch was recalled.” Lena began to grab a duffel bag and gather her accelerator into it, carefully placing it in and zipping up the back carefully around the only tether to this frozen world for her. 

“Are you certain the copy is in that base?” Amélie questioned, her hope of this plan actually working fading away almost as fast as Lena was. 

“Nope not at all, unfortunately. But we got no other choice, love.” Lena strapped the bag over her non-transparent shoulder, hoping that the bag didn’t fall through her at some point in their journey. A journey she was excited for in all honesty. It meant swinging around with Widow’s hook again, and being close to her body as well. She walked to the corner of the room and grabbed the widow’s kiss, handing it back over to its owner. 

Amélie eyed her rifle, then lifted her attention back to Lena. All this time with Talon her rifle had been what she considered her safety blanket, comforting her as long as it was close. Now she only saw it as a cold, hard, piece of metal, unable to keep her warm at night. 

And isn’t warmth the only way to feel alive? 

“This is the only shot we got.” Lena outstretched her hand, and Amélie eyed it for a few moments. “You with me, love?” 

Amélie placed her hand into hers. She figured she’d tried all she could to be unstuck in this frozen world, and all she could to make sure Tracer would stay in this world at all. 

“Oui, ma cherie. I am with you.” 

Widowmaker shot her grapple towards the sky window, her golden eyes not leaving the warm amber ones staring back at her. 

‘I sincerely hope you are right about this, Lena. Otherwise, we both die.’ Amélie thought to herself as they descended back into the indefinite night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be much more action packed as we approach the end! Stay tuned!


	7. Worse Comes to Worse

The journey was quiet to the last surviving Talon stronghold. Amélie noticed, of course. More minuscule details have been unable to get by her before. So the absence of Lena’s infamous giggling was definitely an indicator that the mood was shifted on them and their situation from now on. 

 

The clock was against them. Lena knew it. Amélie knew it. It wasn’t the time for laughter. Now was the time to get very serious about fixing the stuck state of the world, possibly the universe. 

 

Still, it didn’t stop Lena from popping a small smile when Amélie bowed slightly once they arrived, a small attempt to lighten the mood of the pressing matters surrounding them. 

 

Lena appreciated it immensely. 

 

“Righto, nicely done, love.” She remarked, before looking around to where they landed. A shipyard in front of the warehouse, with storage containers stacked and towered along the cemented landscape. “So, I suppose you should be leading the way, yeah? If you were a very crucial blueprint in how to take down your sworn enemies’ best field agent, where would you be hiding?” 

 

Amélie chuckled softly, brushing by Lena as she motioned with her hand to follow her around the warehouse’s main entrance, and towards the side, sheeted with aluminum and glass. ‘Talon really must’ve fallen on hard times,’ Lena briefly thought. 

 

“What makes you think we considered you the best field agent, cherie? There are plenty of other contenders to fit the role.” Amélie pulled down a sheet of rusted aluminum down, and revealed a hidden door leading down to what Lena assumed was a secret basement. Yet it did not fall into the surrounding areas dilapidated architecture but seemed brand new.

 

Quickly, Amélie used the butt of her rifle to break the door’s hinges. They descended together, where the stairs met a hallway of clean, minimalist white tiled walls, the Talon logo spread throughout. ‘Maybe Talon ain’t in such shabby shape after all?’ Lena thought again. 

 

Then another thought hit her, as her face slowly contorted with annoyance. “Oi, what?! I’m not considered the best? Who can possibly be better than The Tracer? Or at least more recognizable?” 

 

Amélie kept leading them down the halls, a labyrinth of white tiles and bright fluorescent lighting, where they eventually stood in front of a set of jet black double doors, Talon logos adorning each one. Next to them, a key pad that Amélie stepped towards. 

 

She started to enter a passcode. “The most recognizable, oui, but perhaps not the best agent there is in the field? I believe that would go to Mercy, non? She can undo all our hard work on the battlefield with a mere staff. Soldiers we think we finish off raised back from the brink of death, causes her to be priority number one in nearly all our missions.” Amélie let a smile creep on her face as she heard Lena’s annoyed huff behind her, knowing the taller woman was right.

 

Her smile faded however as she realized her passcode wasn’t working. “Merde…” Amélie remarked. “The door. With no time moving the electricity current, there’s no way to get it open.”

 

Lena looked at the intimidating doors in front of them, a solemn look over her face and the dark marble reflecting her expression right back at her. She looked down at herself, noticing her fading form on her collarbone was spreading both up towards her neck and across to her right shoulder. It terrified yet encouraged her at the same time. An idea had struck her just then, and her expression on the marble changed to reflect the brunette’s new-found determination.

 

She was not going to die without at least trying something. Even if that something was utterly mad.

 

She turned to face Amélie, instinctively placing her hands on her shoulders to calm the woman before her when she heard Lena’s ridiculously insane plan. Lena already knew that Amélie would not like this, not at all, and had to brace for it.

 

“Love, I have an idea, and well…you’re definitely not going to like it.” She looked directly into Amélie’s golden eyes, scanning them for any sort of emotion. Perhaps a tall order for a woman designed not to feel, yet she saw the concern there all the same. Lena wondered for a fleeting moment if her conditioning wearing off like this had to do with Talon barely being able to operate, let alone keep their best asset’s upkeep in check.

 

Amélie looked back at Lena’s brown gaze. It doesn’t look good on her. “Why? What do you have in mind?” Her voice laced with worry.

 

“The only way to get that door to move is if the timeline is put back on track, yeah? The only way to get that happen is if I reconnect some of the wiring in here...” Lena trailed off, suddenly looking down at the beat up and broken chronal accelerator haphazardly strapped to her chest, immediately feeling nauseous at what she was about to tell her lover.

 

‘Lover? Paramour? Deadly assassin with benefits?’ she thought to herself quickly. God, this was not the time to try and figure out where they stood in the relationship department. She shook her head and refocused her brown irises into golden ones.

“Basically, it means that I’m going to most likely fade even more, in order to get that door open. Possibly even disappear completely if it’s an especially slow opening door.” Lena half-heartedly chuckled, yet Amélie was nowhere near even cracking a grin.

 

“Absolutely not.” she said with such intensity that Lena actually took her hands off Amélie’s shoulders. The golden hues of Amélie’s eyes burned with a fire, concern being completely erased with a rage Lena had never seen in all her years fighting against the woman. “I cannot fix that damn thing on my own! How do you expect the timeline to be fixed if you disappear?”

 

Lena held firm. As uneasy as the choice made her, she knew it may have been the only shot they had at all at getting this whole mess sorted out. “Love, listen to me. You’re positive the manual is in there, yeah? Then it should show you exactly how my accelerator works. How it can be broken, but most importantly how to fix it. You’ll be fine without me…if worse comes to worse.”

 

The purple cladded woman stared back at the shorter woman. Her intensity slowly drifted away, giving way to resignation. “Mon dieu, Lena…” she then placed a cold hand on Lena’s cheek, looking deeply into her eyes. “I can’t even say for certain that the manual is in there. What if it isn’t? I get stuck here, but most importantly I lose you. I can’t…I won’t lose you.”

 

Lena placed her own hand over Amélie’s cold one, leaning more into the contact. She closed the distance between them, placing a chaste kiss on oxygen-starved lips. Amélie kept Lena there for as long as she could, the warmth of her soothing the chill in her chest at the thoughts of losing the girl kissing her forever. And to a fate even worse than death. 

 

She could hardly bear the thought of losing Lena by her dying, after all that’s happened between them. But to scatter her across the void of endless timelines, a ghost who can do nothing but drift through an infinite void? No. Amélie wouldn’t have it-couldn’t have it. And she knew exactly why.

 

She loved Lena. Loved her back with all the passion Lena loved her with. She refused to admit it to herself before. But now, with the very real possibility of losing her right in front of her, she couldn’t deny it any longer.

 

“Je t'aime, Lena.” Her mouth spoke before her brain can even think about actually admitting it at this very moment.

 

Lena was shocked obviously. It wasn’t often that Amélie would show any sort of vulnerability. Especially something so particularly revealing. A confession of love was the most vulnerable a person can be, to her.

 

“I love you too, Amélie. This must be so very difficult for you love, but this is the absolute only shot we have at returning the world to normal again. The only shot where I can actually stay grounded in this reality at all, really. We have to do this.” Lena stepped forward and kissed her lips again, hoping to ignite some hope in the assassin.

 

Amélie sighed, knowing everything Lena said was true. “Foolish girl…fine. I am ready. Let’s get this over with.”

 

Lena smiled gently seeing Amélie try and revert back to her cold, calculated self. But she noticed how her brows were still upturned in dread and worry. Lena swore to herself she would be around to make Amélie playfully smirk again. Even if she had to rip apart all of spacetime, she would make good on the promise.

 

With shaky breath and hands, Lena removed the accelerator, and began to attach two of the wires back into the machine itself. “Here we go…” She remarked before made the connection.

 

A flash of blue enveloped the two women, causing them both to shield their eyes. A moment passed before their blindness subsided. A moment was all they needed for the electricity to course through the metal door frame, the deadbolts unlocking themselves with Amélie’s passcode having already been entered.

 

The sound of gunfire rang in Amélie’s ears. Above them, the firefight of the night they froze time finally resuming. But Amélie paid no attention to it. She only cared about one thing right now.

 

“Lena? Lena!’ She called out, not caring who might hear her. She looked at the place where Lena had once stood, to find it empty. The only thing next to her was the barely functioning chronal accelerator, its blue glow struggling to stay lit.

 

Without thinking, she grabbed at it and ripped the two wires attached to the mainframe of the device out, the ones that Lena had just reattached. The light on the machine burst into a once again blinding luminescence.

 

The world went silent once more.

 

And she had no idea where Lena was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so maybe this isn’t the action packed chapter I thought it was going to be but! It’s coming up next. Stay tuned! 
> 
> As a side note: Anyone interested in seeing me reblog amazing art and memes, seeing my face once in a while, or asking me anything, follow my tumblr!  
> https://amazinglyspicy.tumblr.com/


	8. Pause, Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo doggy, longest chapter yet! Enjoy!

“What do you mean we can’t find her? She can’t just disappear without a trace!”

She felt as if she had fallen flat on her back, the wind knocked out of her. How much longer could she stay up? She couldn’t even tell if she was conscious, the ringing in her ears and blurred, double image vision not helping her in the slightest.

“At this point, she’s presumed dead, sir. All traces of the plane and of her are gone.”

Her senses were muddled. There is a certain pain to feel when being this disorientated. Even so, she recognized the voices. A man with authority, and a much deeper voice, one that may have not been human at all. What were they talking about? And just where the hell was she?

“But there have been temporal anomalies, small blips in the regular flow of time. The data we’ve been receiving makes it almost look like it’s making us retrace all our steps back. Back to the day she disappeared.”

Through the thick haze of what looked like a too bright kaleidoscope, she realized she wasn’t even standing. More like floating, yet not off any ground she can see. She tried to hug herself, to maintain any sense of existing in a physical plane she could understand. But it was fruitless, her body not corporeal enough to be felt. Her eyes once again tried to focus, but this time on her own self. She was a ghost, transparent and skin glowing an ethereal light blue. This pain, the delicate balance of consciousness and unconsciousness, floating adrift in what felt like a kaleidoscope of bending light and fragmented shards of memories, and a sickening sense of familiarity. She’s been in this exact situation before.

“Ever get that feeling of Déjà vu? That one really sent shivers down my spine! Anyone else feel just the tiniest trace of cold fear right now, or whassit just me?”

This voice was that of a woman. And hearing it made her head hurt. Almost as if she wasn’t just hearing the voice outwardly, but it was resonating within her own ear drums. Was that…her own voice?

“Tracer…Lena…please, come back to me. Please. Désolé, c’est ma faute, j’aurais dû y penser.”

Another voice, also a woman’s. Butterflies fluttered in her chest, or at least what looked to be her chest. She wasn’t sure what was real anymore. But that voice felt real. Unlike the other voices, she felt drawn to this one. It resonated one thought within her. Safe.

She prayed that voice would keep talking, as she tried her damnedest to “swim” to it. The brightness of the space she inhabited making the task so much more difficult. She followed it as hard as she could, and eventually the kaleidoscope gave way to a mirror reflecting itself onto a woman, tinged blue, just like her own skin. Was she a ghost too? The thought passed briefly. No. She couldn’t be. Maybe she was before. But not now.

She tried to break through the mirror to push through with strength rising up from her stomach to her arms. But whatever kind of glass the mirror was made of, if it even was glass, would not warp.

Suddenly, all the pain came to a head. Her mind being transported from place to place, the exhaustion of barely holding onto existence, added with the strain of trying to reach the only voice to make her feel safe through all of this. It was maddening, agonizing, dreadful.

And that damn word annoyed her to no end. Trace this, trace that. Tracer.

The realization crashed onto her, sending waves of the pain of remembering her entire life all at once while also having to rationalize everything that happened to her was almost too much.

Screaming for help was the only thing she managed to do now.

“Amélie! Amélie, please! I don’t want to be stuck here again! Please help me, Amélie!”

The sounds of silence brought no comfort to Amélie.

She had found the manual on her own, where Talon kept their most sensitive intelligence. A basic blueprint of the chronal accelerator, how it worked, how to destroy it, and how to reverse engineer it.  
There was no description on how to simply fix the machine to working order.

And for the first time Amélie can remember, she was absolutely wracked with distraught.

She was stupid, so stupid to think that breaking the chronal accelerator could somehow bring Lena back, at least to the frozen state of the world. But alas, it was just a futile attempt to hold onto something she cared about. Someone she actually truly loved.

But who was she kidding? A person as tragic as herself, does not get the happy endings. The only thing she could do now was reverse engineer the accelerator. But she had no idea what that meant.  
The tattered thing she had placed on the table was still and lifeless. But she had supposed there was no time like the present to begin work on this new accelerator. She only hoped the same Lena would come back with it.

She worked endlessly, foregoing food and sleep for what seemed like days, though no actual time had ever passed. The blueprint was fortunately very in depth and thorough in its descriptions, and Amélie followed every instruction to the T. Yet with each flutter of light the accelerator gave out, each shot that rang out above her, signaling that she was another step closer to creating hope or despair, her skepticism grew.

What was the point in saving the world if Lena wasn’t here to see it done?

Lena had all but stopped trying to scream, her voice falling on deaf ears. But she continued to watch through the mirror, tirelessly, as Amélie worked the same way. She was glad that Amélie found the blueprints, after all they had both been through. It looked as if Lena would be back to her normal self soon, yet she couldn’t help but wonder why Amélie didn’t look as happy as she could have been.

Lena continued to watch, seeing Amélie solder the accelerator shut, after she fused together the last two wires that stuck haphazardly outwards. Did it work? Did she finally do it?  
The accelerator lit up, the blue glow casting itself beautifully onto Amélie’s tired face. Lena always thought she looked beautiful though.

Amélie stood back a moment, stunned that her tinkering actually produced an effect. The accelerator hummed like new, its glow steady, bright, and strong. She did it. She actually did it…. but where was Lena? She had imagined that as soon as the accelerator was repaired. The flow of time would continue normally, and Lena would reappear in her harness, none the worse for wear, and hopefully the same Lena at that. She cursed herself for thinking things could be that simple yet again. Was she really turning back into the naïve little girl, with a fear of spiders and hope for the world?

Maybe…that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Lena looked at the accelerator from the glass-like plane she existed on. It was working! Amélie was a right smart gal, she thought. She would pay her back for saving her life with one million kisses, she giddily thought. All that work she did for her…now that was love all right. Lena’s happy musings halted with a cry from Amélie. She had collapsed to the ground of the marble floor, sobbing as gunshots rang out above the both of them. The flow of time had definitely been fixed, but why was Lena still in this glass tomb?

Lights began to flicker above them. The sound of an explosion rang out above them. Amélie stood up and continued to stare at the accelerator, seemingly trying to will Lena there with her focused gaze. As if on cue, a crack in the mirror Lena stared through began to form. Another explosion went off, this time much closer, causing Amélie to stare up, figuring out a plan of attack in case anyone should intrude on her. It seemed unlikely. All of Talon’s remaining resources were sent aboveground to fight off Overwatch. But that explosion did sound much too close for complete comfort.

The crack began to spread, and Lena began to push with all her might. The mirror was cracking even more, the crevices growing in number to a point Lena was sure it must’ve shattered by now, if it was bound by any types of laws of physics. She continued, the strain of her action already taking its toll, but she would not give in so easily.

Shots ricocheted in the hallway just outside the large marble doors that had made Lena disappear in the first place. Amélie rolled behind the work bench, grabbing her rifle and activating her recon visor. It indicated that 6 Talon grunts were just outside the doors, and she saw one of them punching in the code for them to open.

“Merde…” she muttered. She grabbed the accelerator off of the table as quick as she could, trying to find a place to hide it while they came in. Not finding a decent spot in time, she resorted to strapping the accelerator to her hip, via her its straps.

“Quickly, fall back into the intelligence room, soldiers! We can hold them off from here!” A grunt barked at the others. They filed into the room together holding a line at the entrance of the door, where they kept firing, slowly backpedaling further into the room to maintain cover.

Lena watched with horror as she saw Amélie duck further back into the room as well, moving as swiftly and quietly as the wind. She had to get out there now. Before it was too late. Because even with Amélie’s combat prowess, the odds were not in her favor in these closed quarters, and they both knew it.

Lena focused hard on the energy that started in her gut and moved up into the muscles in her arms. With one final push, she felt the mirror shatter behind her closed eyes. Yet there was no feeling falling as she expected, but she instead felt the rush of blinking forward. Right onto Amélie’s hip, back into the chronal accelerator glowing anew, snugly, as if she never unstrapped. They both tumbled into a supply shelf, Amélie hissing in pain and the sudden shock of all the weight right next to her.

“Oof! Oi, sorry about that love, looks like I’m still falling for ya!” Lena said cheekily to the flabbergasted assassin, now knelt next to her. Tears welled in Amélie’s eyes, as she was about to embrace Lena, but the moment was cut far too short.

“Sir! We aren’t alone in here!” a gruff voice called out. “Be on guard, men! Hostiles could already be in here!”

Lena and Amélie stood completely still, listening to any threats approaching them. It seemed that the Talon grunts were doing the exact same. Amélie turned her head slightly to where she had just heard them calling out commands and saw the most peculiar sight. The Talon agents seemed to be frozen in their spots…frozen in time.

“They have stopped advancing.” Amélie whispered.

“Oh, bloody great. Looks like time is on the fritz all over again!” Lena laughed while throwing her arms up.

“There! Over there! Fire on position 3 o’clock!” Shots were hurled on their covered position, causing Lena to yelp out. Amélie on the other hand sprang into action, rolling quickly out of fire to shoot a poison mine on the enemies’ flank. They were blinded and choked now, and Amélie used the smoke cover to fire off two quick headshots, falling two men.

As the smoke dissipated, she rolled back into the cover Lena and Amélie shared. Lena unbraced her pulse pistols, ready to get into the fight with Amélie.

“How many are out there?” she asked.

“Two down, four to go.” Amélie responded, casually reloading her gun as she’s done hundreds of times before.

“Wicked. This should be a clean-up job for me then! Just a little pew-pew, maybe even hand ‘em a pulse bomb if I’m feeling generous!” Lena blinked off, behind another supply rack, she held her breath, listening to where she should drop in on the unwitting grunts. Yet once again, the entire room went dead silent.

Amélie’s recon visor showed the soldiers frozen in odd standing positions, as if time had stopped on a dime, just as the soldiers got their bearings back after the smoke had cleared.

“Lena…keep still, do not even breath.” Amélie called out to her, attempting to figure out what exactly was happening. Lena was about to respond, question what she was playing at, but instead kept still, her breath remaining held.

The world surrounding them echoed with a resounding hum of nothing. No gunfire. No footsteps. No signs of life whatsoever. Time was definitively stopped, yet it had just been active moments before. What was the only key difference in keeping time suspended or resumed now?

“Lena. Time is only moving when you move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who may have took some inspiration from Super Hot for this chapter....go on guess....


End file.
